Name: Sam and Linda
Made by and When: Käthe Kruse, circa 1980s
Material: Lightweight hard plastic heads, stuffed brown stockinette bodies
Marks: Cloth “Käthe Kruse” tag is attached to the back of their cloth bodies; they both have swing tags around their necks that read: Original Käthe Kruse Modell Hanne Kruse Made in Germany.
Height: 10 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Coarsely textured black Afro-style hair; Linda’s hair has two ribbons on the sides. Both have painted brown eyes, closed mouths with dark red-painted lips.
Clothes: Sam wears a white shirt that has a sage-green dotted print, a red bowtie, sage-green suspender pants, white socks, and tan suede shoes. Linda’s pink floral dress is worn underneath a pink pinafore. She wears white knee-socks and red leather shoes.
Other: Käthe Kruse began making dolls in 1905 out of necessity; her daughter wanted a lifelike baby doll but none were available. The dolls have been chiefly White with Black dolls added to the line in later years. Sam and Linda’s swing tags indicate they were made in Germany by Käthe Kruse’s daughter Hanne Kruse, who began making the dolls in 1958 and continued through 1990 when manufacturing was passed on to Andrea and Stephen Christenson. Read the Käthe Kruse history here.
Gallery
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